RE: Offtopic: Moving from W2 to 1099

Regarding going independent, here's a couple of things to consider:

1. Because of the supposed potential liability, most companies do not like to go 1099. They like a corporate entity between the customer and the worker. If you're doing work in CA then you need to either be incorporated in CA or incorporated in another state but still pay the CA Franchise tax which is a minimum of $700 per year. So if you have to incorporate then you might as well incorporate in CA and that's going to run about $1500-2000. If you Inc yourself and hire yourself out as W-2 hourly then the company has to match the FICA and Medicare deductions taken out of the employee's wages.
2. How much time are you willing to spend marketing your services? This can add up. How long can you go between "gigs" without any billable hours? Do you have a war chest?
3. You have to bill for services and collect the money.
4. $'s for training, IOUG, etc. come out of you own pocket.
5. Vacations.
6. Health care and insurance, especially if you have a family.
7. Contracts.
8. Paper work, bookkeeping.
9. Accountant.
10. Lawyer.
11. Separate bank account.
12. Lifestyle.
13. etc.

After that it's all easy :-) You should spend as much time as you can to study all the issues. I highly recommend Janet Ruhl's books. Here's an excellent resource: http://www.realrates.com/

Good Luck!!
Steve Orr

P.S. If all they want is a part-time DBA just tell them you'd be glad to serve in that capacity while being remunerated as a full-time employee :-)

-----Original Message-----
From: Rama Malladi [mailto:rmalladi_at_inteliant.com] Sent: Wednesday, December 20, 2000 12:42 PM To: Lazy DBA (E-mail); L-Fatcity (E-mail) Subject: Offtopic: Moving from W2 to 1099

Hi ..
 With the signs of economy slowing clearly visible and lots of dot-coms closing shops, I see a trend wherein many companies are asking for part-time DBAs. Many of them are thinking having a full time DBA is waste of resources, but would need one to set up databases, and be there in a time of crisis/upgrade etc... So a typical DBA is supporting multiple clients on a part-time basis...

 With this background, I am exploring if it is a good idea to move from w2 to 1099 these days? Also if you have any contacts for setting up the infrastructure to work in California, it would be helpful. Received on Wed Dec 20 2000 - 15:45:49 CST